A variety of mitering devices are known in the prior art for clamping and aligning work pieces, such as moldings or picture frame sections, during sawing operations and/or for holding the work pieces while they are being permanently joined by nails, glue or both. Known examples of the prior patented art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 505,024; 1,704,747; 2,941,557 and 3,812,751.
The objective of the present invention is to improve on the prior art by providing a mitering apparatus which is more versatile and more efficient and particularly an apparatus which has the ability to substantially perfectly align the mitered ends of work pieces and to hold them aligned during nailing operations and to re-establish alignment if some movement should occur during the nailing without the necessity for loosening the work clamp or vise jaws at any time.
It is a further object of the invention to achieve the last-mentioned alignment feature by means of a simple manually operated mechanism which is coupled to the two vises or clamps of the apparatus for shifting them along two linear paths in opposite directions and for locking the two clamps in selected adjusted positions when the proper alignment of the work piece mitered ends has been achieved.
The apparatus is simple in construction, rugged and durable, compact and does not require skill to operate. In fact, its usage in perfecting a miter joint for a frame or the like totally removes skill from the operation so that anyone can produce an almost perfect joint each time the invention is utilized.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art during the course of the following detailed description.